Social service workers visited Palermo home in which girl lived

Erin Maxwell, in a photo submitted by her out-of-town relatives. She is from Palermo, Oswego County. Her death is a homicide.

Updated version of the story, 8:48 p.m. Friday:

State police revealed today that child protective workers had received complaints about the Maxwells' home. Lt. Troy Little said workers with the Oswego County Department of Social Services had been to the home, in Palermo, in response to those complaints.

Little wouldn't say how many times they visited or be more specific about when the visits were.

"We know Social Services has had complaints regarding this household," Little said. "As far as what conditions they saw when they were out there, we don't know. The conditions we ran up against were very unsanitary, very deplorable."

Troopers have interviewed the child protective workers, Little said.

After the death, a codes enforcement officer found the home was uninhabitable.

Oswego County Social Services Commissioner Frances Lanigan said Friday she was prohibited from talking about any case. But she said her child protective workers do their jobs well. The agency followed up last year on more than 2,000 reports of child abuse or neglect, she said.

"I have every confidence that those workers are well trained and that they know what they're doing," Lanigan said. "The first standard is always immediate safety from impending risk to the child."

A state law passed last year allows child protective workers to get inside homes where there's suspected child abuse, although that sometimes requires a court order, Lanigan said.

Oswego County Administrator Philip Church said he talked with Lanigan Friday in response to Maxwell's death. Lanigan was prohibited by law from discussing the case with him , he said.

Church asked Lanigan generally how child protective workers do their jobs.

"She assured me that . . . DSS has fulfilled all of its responsibilities correctly in this case," Church said.

Church said he had confidence in the county's DSS workers, despite allowing Maxwell to live in a home that had a 3-foot-high pile of cat feces when police responded there Aug. 29.

"They're very conscientious people -- not prone to let things slide," Church said of the workers. "They know their jobs and how to do them well."

The county is constantly sending its DSS workers for new training, he said.

County legislator Barbara Brown said she asked Lanigan to see if her department investigated complaints of abuse or neglect before Maxwell's death. Lanigan assured her she would check the records, Brown said.

Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann said he hadn't heard until Friday that DSS workers had been at the home. The legislature will look into the agency's handling of the case if the police investigation reveals a problem, he said.

Legislator Jack Proud, chairman of the health committee that oversees DSS, said he would be concerned if it's true that child protective workers witnessed the deplorable conditions and did not remove a child from a dangerous situation.

"I'm concerned if that's factual -- obviously," he said. "Anybody would be concerned about that situation."